Legion Of Darkness
by Commissarhoni
Summary: Dimitri's morning as Grandmaster of the Dark Legion, takes place before Knuckles #22


Dimitri looked out over the hidden palace zone as he watched the Dark Legion base begin to come alive, times were hard with the Guardians and the EST constantly searching for them, but they always found a way to make it work. "Good Morning, Lord Dimitri!" came a voice from behind him. Dimitri continued watching the zone as he spoke "What do you require of me?". "Apologies, Lord Dimitri, Lieutenant 1st Class Gae-Na reporting as ordered!" spoke the female Legionnaire. Dimitri slowly turned around, his mechanical dreadlocks clittering together as he slowly walked to the center of the room. "Tell Lien-Da I wont be needing any energy boosts today, you are dismissed Lieutenant". Gae-Na smartly saluted and quickly exited leaving Dimitri to his thoughts. He stepped before the pool in his chambers and looked into his reflection, he missed those days when he had such power, his face was as perfect as it had been in his youth, he had limitless potential, then that infernal mammoth…. He stepped into the ancillary chamber and witnessed the beauty of the various types of crystals hanging down from the ceiling as small streams of water flowed through the scenery. "such beauty.." he thought as he took a deep breath and took in the serenity of his morning. It was times such as this that his wished he had more of his family to share this with, his son Menniker, and his beloved… he shook off the bad memories as he stepped back into his main chamber and walked over to the window again. Light was now beaming down through the cracks in the cave ceiling and shed a beautiful white light down upon the legion's base as it rested among the ancient hidden palace. "Beautiful" he thought to himself, he loved the mornings so. He then turned around and exited his chambers.

As he stepped into the corridor he noticed his Grandson Moritori Rex standing with two Legionnaires in the center of the corridor. The two Legionnaires snapped to attention as Moritori greeted Dimitri. "Good morning grandfather!, won't you join myself, Lien-Da, and the others in the Grand Hall for the morning report today?" Dimitri sighed, "As grandmaster I believe I'm is the reason you have these sorts of things, no? I will make my way there after visiting the palace, I need some thinking time today" said Dimitri as he made his way down the Corridor. "Very well grandfather, as you wish" Moritori turned and began giving orders to the Legionnaires. As he walked down the hall, Dimitri observed the Dark Legion Banners and pictures of former Grandmasters and notable Kommissars that lined the walls. It was amazing how large his son Menniker's following had become, and he couldn't help but feel proud of leading his son's people into a better life for all of them. Although sometimes Dimitri wondered if all the violence caused was really such a good thing. He waved these thoughts from his mind as he turned the corner and headed towards the door that led to the palace. The two Legionnaires guarding the door snapped to attention as Dimitri approached, their well cleaned plasma rifles presented outward in a salute, the attached bayonets gleaming as if they were made of diamond. "at ease" called Dimitri softly as he pushed the door open and stepped into the great hall of the hidden palace, small intertwining strands of light ran up the walls and the shiny tiles glinted in the light reflected into the cavern. Dimitri walked forward to take a look at the mural near the holding chamber. His metallic feet clacked on the tile as he walked and he entered the mural room to see another Legionnaire observing the mural as well.

"And who might you be, trooper?" inquired Dimitri as he made his way towards the Mural. The orange skinned augmented echidna turned around and saluted. "Cataphract Dybalt Grandmaster!". "Relax Dybalt, what brings you out here this fine morning?". the Legionnaire looked confused but finally began to speak, "uh, I was just observing the mural, Grandmaster" Dimitri looked up at the mural, it could be interpreted many different ways, but what Dimitri saw was a powerful hero going up against an overpowering evil. "ah, it's always nice to take a moment to enjoy the finer things in life, isn't it Dybalt?" said Dimitri. "of course Lord Dimitri!" replied Dybalt. "I've always wondered who made this and why, there's still so much we don't know about our echidna ancestors. And what we do know boggles the mind just to think about it. I mean, sometimes it seems like just yesterday that I absorbed the power of the chaos emeralds. What do you think about all this, Cataphract Dybalt?". "well, uh, I've always wondered if this mural has something to do with those chaos emeralds" he said as he pointed to the green object that the larger figure was holding. "It looks like it has some connection in all of this" Dybalt continued as Dimitri began to pace around the room while observing the mural. "interesting conclusion" began Dimitri, "you seem to be a little more well versed in our culture than the rest of our brethren". "of course Lord Dimitri" replied Dybalt as Dimitri turned his attention to the mural one last time. "it's been a pleasure talking with you Cataphract Dybalt, carry on" said Dimitri, who promptly turned and began heading towards the Grand Hall. Dybalt snapped to attention and saluted as Dimitri walked away, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

"ATTENTION ON DECK!" called the Legionnaire standing guard at the door as Dimitri entered the Grand Hall. All the top legion leaders stood up from their seats at the main table and watched Dimitri as he walked over to his chair at the head of the table. "At ease" called Dimitri and sat down as the rest of the table did the same. "Moritori, what do you have for us?" called Dimitri, Moritori Rex stood up and began to speak. "Preparations for Operation Switchblade are almost complete, the medical teams are preparing themselves and our technicians have completed the chip you asked for. Kommissar Lien-Da is standing by with our action teams to carry out phase one of the plan, Lien-Da?" Moritori took a seat as Lien-Da stood up "Yes Lord Dimitri, my team is receiving last minute gear and upgrades as we speak and we will be ready to carry out phase one of the plan at around 0200 hours tomorrow morning. We'll have the package in hand tentatively sometime around 0400 hours." She sat down as Dimitri ran this all through his head. "What about support for phase three?" inquired Dimitri. A heavily augmented brown furred echinda stood up, "Lord Dimitri, Senior Cataphract Of The Legion Xenin. I will be organizing the support forces for phase three, our mechanics have assured me that the hovercrafts will be operational and supply sections will have a surplus of ammunition and other supplies. I will personally lead the 11th assault platoon in the detaining operations for phase three". The echidna sat down as Dimitri spoke again, "Very Well Senior Cataphract, and what about our candidate? Major Benedict?". Another echinda stood up and again addressed Dimitri. "Lord Dimitri, the Honor Guard for the rally has been hand picked by me, and we are ready to do our part in phase four of the operation" he sat down and Dimitri addressed the table. "excellent work on the preparations for operation switchblade, I'm very pleased with your progress and I'm looking forward to seeing the results. With any luck by this time next week, we'll be well on our way to restoring the rightful order in echidna society, and I'll have the Guardian right where I want him. Dismissed.." Dimitri stood up and as the rest of the table did the same, and walked out the door to head to his personal quarters. As he walked down the hall he caught a glimpse of the portrait of his son Menniker. "One day I'll make sure you did not sacrifice in vain son, I'll lead your people to the glorious utopia that the line of Edmund took from them, took from us…." with that thought Dimitri retired to his quarters, ready for his legion to carry out their orders as they had for generations before…

Dimitri, Gae-Na, Lien-Da, Benedict, Xenin, and Moritori Rex belong to Archie

Comments and critiques welcome.


End file.
